Cost of living comparison

compared to

Addis Ababa vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Addis Ababa is 6.2 times more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 4.5% more in Addis Ababa
Groceries: pay 16.8% more in Addis Ababa
Transportation: pay 56.4% more in Addis Ababa
Housing: pay 4.4 times more in Addis Ababa
Childcare: pay 31.2 times more in Addis Ababa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.8% more in Addis Ababa
Clothing: pay 2.6 times more in Addis Ababa

The cost of childcare, housing, clothing, transportation, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Addis Ababa are more expensive than in Colombo. Notably, childcare, housing, and clothing are significantly more expensive in Addis Ababa.

Addis Ababa vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Addis Ababa instead of Colombo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.5% more for restaurants

	Colombo	Addis Ababa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.13 LKR1,269.15	$4.26 ETB655.54	+3.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.26 LKR2,538.29	$6.50 ETB1,000.24	-21.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 LKR233.26	$0.61 ETB93.51	-19.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 LKR111.43	$0.57 ETB87.20	+56.3%
Average			+4.5%

Colombo vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.8% more for groceries

	Colombo	Addis Ababa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.52 LKR160.10	$1.26 ETB193.73	+141.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.78 LKR2,083.94	$4.34 ETB667.36	-36.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 LKR2,060.40	$5.42 ETB834.53	-19.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.95 LKR600.76	$2.28 ETB351.02	+16.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 LKR629.94	$5.76 ETB886.79	+181.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.42 LKR1,051.88	$3.08 ETB473.48	-10.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LKR152.38	$0.43 ETB66.40	-13.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.69 LKR826.88	$1.06 ETB162.78	-60.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR168.43	$0.40 ETB62.30	-26.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR157.17	$0.28 ETB42.45	-46.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 LKR177.69	$0.91 ETB139.43	+56.7%
Average			+16.8%

Colombo vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of groceries

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pay 56.4% more for transportation

	Colombo	Addis Ababa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	$4.81 ETB740.52	+16.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.61 LKR2,030.64	$12.00 ETB1,846.60	+81.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,432.11 LKR8,122,543.83	$55,000.00 ETB8,463,587.61	+108.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.04 LKR934.09	$3.62 ETB556.29	+18.9%
Average			+56.4%

Colombo vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.4 times more for housing

	Colombo	Addis Ababa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.01 LKR4,306.40	$130.20 ETB20,035.62	+829.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$360.90 LKR110,903.96	$815.99 ETB125,568.08	+126.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$177.21 LKR54,457.87	$512.43 ETB78,854.26	+189.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$38.78 LKR11,916.86	$121.97 ETB18,769.25	+214.5%
Average			+339.7%

Colombo vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of housing

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pay 31.2 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Addis Ababa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	$94.05 ETB14,472.47	+177.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$505.51 LKR155,343.65	$30,187.50 ETB4,645,355.47	+5871.6%
Average			+3024.7%

Colombo vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Addis Ababa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 LKR710.72	$0.90 ETB138.50	-61.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.67 LKR820.10	$1.09 ETB167.35	-59.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.24 LKR3,147.49	$5.10 ETB784.81	-50.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.33 LKR4,097.53	$62.10 ETB9,556.74	+365.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.30 LKR1,015.32	$3.75 ETB577.06	+13.5%
Average			+41.8%

Colombo vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.6 times more for clothing

	Colombo	Addis Ababa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.56 LKR8,162.73	$45.03 ETB6,929.81	+69.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.76 LKR5,457.33	$75.17 ETB11,566.90	+323.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 LKR20,653.71	$94.08 ETB14,477.62	+40.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.07 LKR11,700.33	$115.09 ETB17,709.97	+202.3%
Average			+158.8%

Colombo vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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